Although Secretary Qi said they escaped unscathed this time, all the villages that Zhou Sihai's group passed through on Thursday will need to submit self-criticisms and cooperate with further investigations. These people are like flies; they will keep a close eye on Qijia Village from now on.
It won't kill you, but it'll annoy you!
If Qijia Village discovers today that these people are not honestly undergoing labor reform and ideological reform, then what awaits Qijia Village is endless re-education.
Secretary Qi's position as village party secretary is in jeopardy, and he may become a target for re-education.
He Tiantian understood Secretary Qi's feelings; Qi Family Village wouldn't be so peaceful anymore. Fortunately, they got through today safely, but they would have to be extra careful when dealing with outsiders from now on.
He Tiantian thought carefully about her past life, and it seemed that such a thing had never happened; Qijia Village had always been peaceful.
Now it seems that as she changed, some things changed as well. We can't look at things with a static perspective; we must look at things from a developmental perspective. To do this, we must understand the movements of everyone in the village.
“Secretary Qi, the most important thing now is to find out who reported it,” He Tiantian suggested. “Secondly, we must properly arrange the work for the reformatory personnel.”
“Sweet girl is right.” Secretary Qi said with lingering fear, “You often work in the livestock department, so I’ll leave Old Man Bai to you. When you’re working each day, find something he can do to help you, so you don’t get caught in the act.”
"I understand, Secretary Qi." He Tiantian replied. Everyone else was easy to talk to, but Old Man Bai couldn't work because of his broken leg, so he needed to be watched closely.
Secretary Qi wiped the sweat from his brow, leaving streaks of sweat on his face, which, combined with the scorching sun, added to his weathered appearance.
He Tiantian guessed that Secretary Qi must be feeling very sad right now. He had been doing his best to improve the village's welfare, but now he was being reported by the villagers, which hurt him deeply.
After Secretary Qi left, He Tiantian settled Old Man Bai in, then went to the kitchen to cook for them before returning to Grandma Qi's house.
When Grandma Qi saw that He Tiantian had returned unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Tiantian, you're finally back. I was so worried about you."
Sweetie liked to help people, but if those people who had been sent to the countryside were found to have problems, it might implicate her as well. She wanted to help, but because of her bad class background, she had no say in the matter. Whenever something like this happened, Grandma Qi would hide at home, afraid to show her face, worried that she herself would be dragged out for re-education.
Oh dear, this old woman with bound feet, her bones can't take any more strain!
"I'm fine, Grandma Qi." He Tiantian put her basket on her back and chuckled. "Secretary Qi has made all the arrangements. If everyone works hard, those people from the county town commune won't be able to find any faults."
After listening for a while, Grandma Qi said seriously, "Sweet girl, you have to be careful. Our Qi family village may not be peaceful in the future. Be careful and cautious when you work and do things, and don't go overboard."
It's terrifying outside!
"Why do you say that?" He Tiantian asked. She didn't believe that Grandma Qi was an ordinary old lady and wanted to hear Grandma Qi's advice.
"Oh dear, our Qijia Village is located on the very edge of Ty County, in the most remote place. It takes almost half a day to get here from the county seat, crossing mountains and valleys. Even during the most serious political movements in the past, it didn't have much of an impact on us, and no one came here. Now, these few people who were sent down have only been here for a few days, and they've already attracted all these people. There are only two possibilities: on the one hand, those people may have offended someone higher up and are being punished; on the other hand, the villagers may be trying to use these people to bring Secretary Qi down."
Oh my goodness, He Tiantian was shocked!
Grandma Qi, who never leaves the house, can think so clearly and analyze things so logically. She is indeed no ordinary old lady.
"Grandma Qi, you guessed right, that's amazing. This time, someone in the village wrote a letter reporting it, and that's why the county commune sent people here for a surprise inspection," He Tiantian said in surprise. No wonder there's a saying in later generations, "Having an elder in the family is like having a treasure," it's absolutely true. They can deduce the general truth of some things based on their experience.
Grandma Qi smiled, waved her hand, and said with a wry smile, "Yes, it's chaotic everywhere, and people's hearts are in turmoil too. Some people will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. It's not too troublesome now that someone in the village has reported it, since it's someone from the village. We can investigate carefully and eventually find out. But if someone in higher-ups has a grudge against these people who have been sent down to the countryside, then it will be much more troublesome. After all, they've already left Qi Family Village, and they may be willing but unable to help!"
Originally, He Tiantian was in a heavy mood, but upon hearing what Grandma Qi said, her eyes lit up and she suddenly understood. Yes, compared to those above doing the dirty work, those below are easier to deal with, since they are closer and easier to investigate.
"Grandma Qi is so insightful!" He Tiantian said, giving a thumbs up, genuinely admiring the old lady.
"What insightful opinions? It's just common sense," said Grandma Qi. "Stop talking and hurry up and eat. After you finish eating, go to work. The commune people are here today, so no one in the village will slack off. Everyone will work hard. If you're not proactive, you'll be considered a backward element."
"Okay!" He Tiantian replied, ate with Grandma Qi, and then carried a bamboo basket to the back mountain.
Just as Grandma Qi said, the villagers who used to dawdle are now walking with a brisk pace, not daring to fall behind for even a moment, and even less wanting to become the target of re-education.
There was no sound of voices or laughter in the village. The entire village seemed shrouded in a gray, misty sky, quiet and oppressively so.
He Tiantian was also affected. She kept Qi San's words firmly in mind, became extra careful, and, like everyone else, hurried along, working very diligently.
When He Tiantian reached the woods at the village entrance, she encountered Qi Jianguo riding a bicycle.
This is the person He Tiantian least wanted to see, and she had been avoiding him before, but why did she run into Qi Jianguo again today?
He Tiantian lowered her head and quickened her pace, but no matter how fast her legs were, they couldn't keep up with two wheels. Qi Jianguo caught up with He Tiantian.
"Sweetie... Sweetie..." Qi Jianguo hurriedly called out, "I'm sorry about the other day. My second uncle is old and has a bad memory, so he forgot your letter. Next time my second uncle receives a letter, I will personally bring it to you so that he won't forget again and you can see the letter from home as soon as possible."
If He Tiantian had encountered such a situation in her past life, she might have believed Qi Jianguo's words and been very grateful to him.
But now He Tiantian absolutely refuses to believe that Qi Shuli didn't deliberately hide her letter. All the other educated youth received their letters, so why did he forget hers? Qi Shuli isn't old, and he doesn't have dementia. Considering what Qi Jianguo did in his previous life, even if she were a fool, she wouldn't believe what Qi Jianguo said.
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